The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-09
Early MATURITY.

The question OF early maturity IN the
feeding of animals used as human food
is always interesting. 1t is simply q
question of the cost of material food to
produce pound of meat. The question
of preparation of food comes in, of
course, collaterally. In the feeding of
any farm stock it is deinitly settled that
the younger the animal the more
fully is the food assimilatcd. That is,
the young animal will give greater re-
turn for the food taken than will an
older one, and the younger the animal
the more fully is the food assimilatcd.
That is, the Young animal will give a
greater return for the food taken than
will an older one, and the younger the
animal the greater the return. Of
beeves, at the Fat-Stock Show at Chica-
20 it was shown that of nine steers
weighing 965 pounds e"ch at the end of
the first year, the cost to the breeder
and feeder was three and half cents
per pound. In the second year five of
these gained an average of 566 pounds
each, the cost being nine cents per
pound. Two of thess the third year
gained $50 pounds, but cost to make
thirteen cents per pound. This of course
is an extreme case where the cost of arti-
fetal feeding and care must be taken
into consideration, but the fact reverthe-
less remains that the older the animal
the less gain is there for the food con-
sumcd. The time inevitably comes
when, however much food is given,
however rich the food, no gain can be
found. Hence it may lie set down as q
constant rule that the older the animal the
less return shall we get for the food
given. In this connection the rule has
been found identical in England. In
relation to this matter the Burnley
Gazette (England), in rclltion to feeding
in that country, says:
SAT Islington last year prize.win-
ming Devon steer weighed SO3 pounds
at :iss days old, having made the very
satisfactory gain for q small breed of two
pounds daily. This year at Birming-
ham the pri 'e-winners in the "under
four-years, old" class had all gained less
than two pounds daily, the cross-bred
Short Horn and Angus bullocks having
bred the highest daily gain of one pound
fourteen ounces. The under three
years-old" animals had made daily gain
of two pounds one ounce, and two pounds
one and half ounces in the case of the
pri e Short Horn and Polled Angus, and
of two pounds three and half ounces
in that of the cross bred Champion oxen.
The same story, showing the advantage
of early maturity, might be told Of sheep.
Colonel d d'Arbres's Hampshire lambs have
been exhibited, weighing Jag pounds at
ten months old, and whose young sheep
are sold as mutton at sven, eight, and
nine months old. weighing 112 pounds,
or as much as wethcrs did formerly at
one year older"
The practical lesson to be learned
from the fore going is that the feeder
who keeps animals in low flesh for years
and then puts them up to fatten loses
money. The daily waste of an animal is
| q constant factcr.. 1t take q certain
amound of food to keep this up. Only
the excess of this, or what is gained,
goes to the credit account. Hence it has
come to be recognized fact among the
better class of feeders that the fuller any
animal destined for the butchers block
the larger the profit, and hence the car
lier the maturity the larger the return
Chicago Tribune.